Customers- Choose The Best

Some people in business will say that there is no such thing as a bad paying customer, some of these same people also believe that there is no publicity that is bad. There is nothing that could be less true for anyone hoping to build a sustainable, growing business. As the owner of the business you need to be the one choosing your own customers from the pool of potential customers. You heard it right, you are the one that should be in charge of choosing customers!

Does that sound a little strange to you? Doesn't it make sense to accept business from anyone who is willing to give you money? In my opinion the answer to that question is clearly NO! In business there are short sighted approaches to increasing the cash flow, and accepting anyone as your customer is one of them. Most people would agree that using misleading tactics to manipulate people into buying from you is not a good way to run your business. However, many otherwise rational business owners think that they "can't afford" to turn down the business of any willing customer. This is a particular temptation when just starting a business and the cash flow is tight. However, the risk to the long term success of the business is greatest just at that time.

You may wonder if it is really a good idea for your company to be selective about whom they do business with. There are some instances where it is definitely a plus to choose your customers quickly. As an example, there is a group of potential customers who will try to purchase your services even when they know that they can't afford them. If you allow them to do so, you may end up having to spend a great deal of time and expense on trying to collect the money owed your company, even having to turn the customer over to a collection agency. This is hardly good for a business. Yet there are many businesses who will take just such risk. The banking industry is an excellent example of what can happen when dealing with customers who can't afford their purchases. The 2007-2008 downturn in the economy was caused largely by the banking industry, which issued mortgages to customers who could not afford them.

The perpetually unhappy customer is another customer that many businesses will try to avoid. These customers are impossible to please, no matter how hard you may try. They are sometimes easy to spot, as they often seem angry and tend to complain about everything and everyone, including your business competitors that they have dealt with in the past. Therefore, it will pay off in the long run to be knowledgeable about the general reputation of others in the same business as yours. This will help you distinguish between legitimate complaints about other companies, which presents an opportunity for your company, and this group of complaining customers, who can be more of a liability than an asset. Although you may have some concerns about losing the income for your company, as a rule it's best to spot these complainers early and avoid the associated problems that come with them.

The above consumer groups are simple for business to ignore, however, another segment of the customer base that must also be passed on are those customers whose needs are not met by your products or services. In general, businesses tend to believe that it is a customer's prerogative to determine what to buy and the business will simply sell as much as possible to any buyer that deems their product worth purchasing. This behavior is near sighted and does not help with the growth of your business. If a customer buys something and is not happy with it, they are likely to place blame on the business that has sold this product to them. In the long run it is far more beneficial to tell a customer that your product may not meet their needs and expectations than to make a sale that will disappoint your customer. If you simply describe your offerings without trying to over sell it with hype this situation can generally be avoided. Inform your customer to the best of your ability what it is that you are offering and let them make an informed decision. If you are able to discuss a customers needs rather than the advantages of a given product you will be more easily able to match your offerings to the needs of the customer. In this situation it is not uncommon to find that another product or service that you have to offer may be more beneficial to the customer. It is also possible that you may determine that you can't meet the customer's needs at all. In cases where you can't satisfy a customers needs a referral to another provider is often the best solution. You will find that this builds consumer confidence and often leads to sales in the future when the customer's need is more matched to your product.

You can get more information about Business Marketing Plan at http://www.BizRave.com . Eric Menzies writes about Web Site Marketing Strategy and other topics.